It’s Sunday now in Japan so here we go.
She’s the third person ever to verifiably reach that age (or 118 for that matter).
Happy birthday to Mrs. Tanaka. Will she beat Sarah Knauss to become the second most longest-lived person ever?
Congratulations to Kane. Has any official Japanese agency verified her age? Did they have certifiable birth certificates in Japan back in 1903? I’m not suggesting they didn’t, I was just curious how this works.
Congratulations.
Speaking for myself though, this sounds like my worst nightmare.
This book has a paper on the verification process in Japan. Looks like it’s indeed up to Western standards.
Then all I can do is wish her a long(er) life.
Bump.
At 119 years, 98 days, she’s now in second place on the all-time list.
I always knew sushi was good for you!
I bet she can really put away the saki, too. 
Is it, though? Wasn’t there a guy who was declared to be the world’s oldest person at one time, verified by Guinness but then it was found out that he used his older brother’s name?
Upon a google search, yes: Shigechiyo Izumi - Wikipedia
It is now. In fact, the Gerontology Research Group (now the only source for the GWR) was founded partially in response to cases like Izumi’s. The only non-Western country they’ve accepted claims from is Japan, and only those born after the introduction of the Koseki register in 1872 (Izumi’s claimed DOB was 1865).
Bumping to update. Mrs. Tanaka passed on 22 April 2022, at the age of 119 years 107 days.
The oldest living person is now Lucile Randon (aka Soeur Andre), a nun from France, born 11 Feb 1904.
Thread from a month ago about Tanaka’s passing here: